Interview
Black Doldrums: “We Like To Have Hidden Clues For Listeners To Discover”
For Black Doldrums, the connections between their records aren't always something they set out to create. Sometimes they appear during the process, and sometimes they are hidden in the songs until someone notices them.
Repetition Compulsion, due 13 November via Fuzz Club, is set to complete what the band describe as their “State of Mind Trilogy”, following Dead Awake and In Limerence. Across the three records, ideas, sounds and themes have gradually begun to overlap, but on the new album, the band decided to take those connections much further. “The main focus of the writing is based around mine and Sophie’s vision and interests. It’s often about Sophie, for Sophie or an idea or concept she has an interest in. This is also the reason why we have her on the front cover art. I suppose it is a sort of muse,” Kev explains.
The album titles themselves describe different states of mind, with each one capable of connecting back to the others. Kev also tends to write in large volumes, meaning songs can change considerably before they reach their final form. “When I write I tend to write in large volumes and often some songs are too long, and they get cut into part 1 and part 2 for example Repetition Compulsion was initially one song, but it morphed into two separate ideas that complement each other.”
That split became central to the album. ‘Repetition’ stays locked into its recurring chord progression, while the other elements around it change, whereas ‘Compulsion’ builds with a growing sense of urgency. “Yes, I think Compulsion ended up being like the way it is because it has a sense of urgency and builds towards the end. It represents the title ‘Compulsion’ well and Repetition literally is the same chord progression on repeat, and we play with all other elements to add variation but whilst keeping it on theme. We were very particular about getting these two tracks to fit that concept.”
Watch on YouTubeThere is also a competitive element to Kev's writing process, although the competition is mainly with himself.
“I also like to challenge myself and compete with myself by writing a song that I feel is better than the last, so we end up with these moods in songs that kind of mirror each other.”Kev
The idea of deliberately connecting the records became clearer while Black Doldrums were still working on In Limerence. Sophie was the one who noticed that certain themes were already appearing across the album. “When we were mixing the previous album ‘In Limerence’ it was Sophie who came up with the title because she noticed some similar themes running through the album so that was when it started naturally. I had already written half of the songs for ‘Repetition Compulsion’ before finishing the previous album so it was already going the direction of this theme, but we decided to really concentrate on pushing it more in that direction.”
The result, according to Kev, is their most deliberate record yet.
“It’s our most precise and well-crafted album we’ve made. Everything was planned to be on purpose. It is essentially a concept album.”Kev
Some of those decisions are obvious, while others are intended to stay hidden until listeners spend more time with the record. “There’s a lot of recurring sounds that will only be revealed once the album is fully released that connects the whole album, but you might have noticed the synth connecting Repetition and Compulsion, there’s also other references to other songs but we can’t say what they are yet,” Sophie says.
The band have also planted connections between the new album and the records that came before it. On ‘Waiting’, the latest single, there are references to ‘Hideaway’ and ‘Into Blue’, two earlier songs that explore similar themes. “For example, on the latest single ‘Waiting’ I was trying to write something even better that Dying for You from the previous album that was pushing it further in the direction of Limerence. In doing so we also like to have hidden clues for listeners to discover when going back for repeated listens. In the lyrics of ‘Waiting’ there is reference to other songs from the previous albums ‘Hideaway’ and ‘Into Blue’ because all those three songs are about similar themes.”
Listen to Black Doldrums — Waiting on Spotify
And then there are the smaller details. “There’s loads more that we don’t want spoil people’s fun but one obvious one is that there is a song titled after an animal on each album. ‘Sidewinder’, ‘Tarantula’ and ‘Bat Bomb’.”
It isn't just the records that continue to reveal new things about the band. After years of working together, Kev and Sophie still manage to surprise each other in the studio. “I really like recording and being able to see and hear exactly what Sophie can do on the drum kit. I am always impressed by what she does in terms of playing the song and coming up with something really unique and gives the song her signature,” Kev says.
For Sophie, it is often Kev's ideas that catch her off guard. “With both albums as the song starts to come together in the studio, I’m always blown away with Kev’s ideas and creativity. He’ll lay stuff down that even the people we work with are like ‘wtf’ and then after they’re like ‘ok I get it, that sounds amazing’. I was particularly taken aback by Kev’s composition skills on this album and the layers of synths that he spent hours and hours working on until 2am sometimes, finding the right sounds.”
That attention to detail also appeared in a very different project this year when Black Doldrums released ECHOES (Live in Belgrade), recorded at KC Grad. The live album wasn't something they set out to make when they arrived in Serbia. “I’ve never written a song on tour before. When you’re growing up and you read about bands being on tour you kind of romanticise about sitting in the van writing down the next album but the realities are that there’s no time between sleeping, toll roads, paperwork, navigation and so on. On this occasion our experience in Belgrade was just one of those moments we’ll remember forever and is an opportunity that’s so rare.”
The band were welcomed into the promoter's home for a meal, giving them the chance to experience more of the people and culture away from the venue. The show itself felt equally memorable, and the recording turned out to be far better than they expected. “The show itself just felt right and the recording from the night was almost near perfect, which is so rare. The photographer as well was so talented, and we loved the photos so much we used those for the artwork. It’s almost like we didn’t decide to make the album; everything was just in place to do so.”
Sophie remembers the practical side of turning that recording into a release. “The engineer just told us they get a desk recording, but he was really interested in getting it right, so we thought, ok this could be something. People had been asking for a live album for a while. None of us had a memory stick on us, so the engineer had to transfer everything by wetranfer which took him a LONG TIME! We’ll be eternally grateful for that.”
Touring has become a major part of Black Doldrums, but the work surrounding the band doesn't stop when they leave the stage. Kev still tries to make time for running and walking the dog, although he admits the band is rarely far away. “We try our best to do normal things. I like to go running a lot and we’ll take the dog for a walk. But in general, it is with us all the time. Sophie does a lot more of managing and social media so she can probably comment better than me.”
For Sophie, switching off is even harder. “It’s really hard to switch off. It’s our band and we have a schedule that’s usually planned out at least a year in advance, if you’re not writing and rehearsing, you’re touring, if you’re not doing that, you’re releasing, we’re making our own videos, coming up with the ideas, talking to our booking agent, getting ticket links ready, making tour posters, merchandise designs, paying for that, paying for upcoming tour costs, social media, it is constant. It’s not for the faint hearted.”
Ask Kev what he would miss most if Black Doldrums disappeared for a year, though, and the answer isn't the touring or the finished records.
“I think just cooking up ideas and plans between the two of us. It’s fun knocking ideas around at home and writing a song on the sofa one afternoon and seeing what Sophie thinks of it. It’s that part that’s almost the most enjoyable thing.”Kev
For Sophie, it would be the people they've met along the way.
“Interacting and meeting people. I had to stay at home this year when the tour went ahead and I really missed meeting everyone at the gigs. It was a huge loss for me personally as I manage the merch table and get to talk to so many people, I’ve found that difficult this year so I’d imagine that would be a big part of it for me.”Sophie
That connection with an audience is also something the band think carefully about when putting together their live set. They don't simply choose a collection of songs and put them in an order. Each track has a particular place. “I think it should be a good split but mainly from 2nd and 3rd album,” Kev says.
Sophie explains the thinking behind it. “We have a couple of songs from the first album but bit by bit we have removed songs from the set. We still have people asking for certain songs but if we had a two-hour set we’d potentially play them, unfortunately we can’t play everything. We put a lot of thought into our set, we treat it almost like theatre, each song has a specific placement for a reason and we’re very aware of keeping audiences engaged. This is why we’re careful about what we play and don’t play.”
And sometimes the band's own reaction to a song doesn't match the audience's. “Having said that, some songs surprise us. We played Dwell or Depart last year in the set and for me personally, I wasn’t feeling it on stage from the audience but after the song ended, there was always a big cheer and some people said it was their favourite. You just never know!”
Once the trilogy is complete, there is no immediate plan to replace it with another carefully defined concept. For now, the next record is being left open. “I think we’ll leave it open but I think we’ll change things up with approach and sounds so it’s nice and fresh and to make sure we’re challenging ourselves.”
With the trilogy coming to an end, Black Doldrums aren't putting any rules around what comes next. For now, they're still writing, experimenting and throwing ideas between them, which, according to Kev, is still the most enjoyable part of being in the band.
For now, there are still plenty of connections left to uncover on Repetition Compulsion.
Black Doldrums' Repetition Compulsion is due 13 November 2026 via Fuzz Club.
